Tokyo Mew Mew
Tokyo Mew Mew (東京ミュウミュウ Tōkyō Myū Myū) is a Japanese shōjo manga series written by Reiko Yoshida and illustrated by Mia Ikumi. It was originally serialized in Nakayoshi from September 2000 to February 2003, and later published in seven tankōbon volumes by Kodansha from February 2001 to April 2003. It focuses on five girls infused with the DNA of endangered animals which gives them special powers and allows them to transform into "Mew Mews." Led by Ichigo Momomiya, the girls protect the earth from aliens who wish to "reclaim" it. The series was adapted into a 52 episode anime series by Studio Pierrot. It debuted in Japan on April 6, 2002, on both TV Aichi and TV Tokyo; the final episode aired on March 29, 2003. A two-volume sequel to the manga, Tokyo Mew Mew à la Mode, was serialized in Nakayoshi from April 2003 to February 2004. The sequel introduces a new Mew Mew, Berry Shirayuki (meaning "White Snow Berry"), who becomes the temporary leader of the Mew Mews, while Ichigo (meaning "Strawberry") is on a trip to England. Two video games were also created for the series: a puzzle adventure game for the Game Boy Advance system and a role-playing video game for the PlayStation. Tokyopop originally licensed the manga series for English-language publication in North America and released the complete original series as well as the sequel, with Kodansha Comics planning to re-publish the series with a new translation in September 2011. 4Kids Entertainment licensed the anime series for North American broadcast under the name Mew Mew Power. Heavily edited and dubbed, 23 episodes of Mew Mew Power aired on the 4Kids TV channel in the United States and 26 episodes aired on YTV in Canada. 4Kids Entertainment was unable to license the remaining 26 episodes of the series, thus were unable to complete its broadcast. They have never released the series to home video. Well received by English-language readers, several volumes of the manga series appeared in the Top 50 sales lists for graphic novels in their respective months of release. Critics praised the manga as a cute and entertaining series with free-flowing style and character designs. à la mode received praise as a good continuation of the series, but was also criticized for offering nothing new. The anime adaptation received high ratings while airing in Japan, resulting in numerous marketing tie-ins. Despite criticism for extensive editing that removed most of the Japanese elements, the Mew Mew Power dub became the highest rated 4Kids show during its broadcast. It was licensed for regional release in several other countries instead of the original Japanese series. Plot Ichika Usami is a second year high school student who loves sweets and wishes to work in a patisserie, but struggles to make anything good. One day, she encounters a fairy named Pekorin, who is able to detect "kirakiraru", an element residing in sweets that represent the feelings put into them. However, evil fairies start to steal the kirakiraru for themselves, leaving the sweets black and lifeless. Determined to protect the sweets, Ichika gains the power of the Legendary Patisserie and transforms into the Pretty Cure, Cure Whip, to protect the kirakiraru. Joined by five other Pretty Cures, Ichika opens up the mobile sweet shop, Kirakira Patisserie, and spends her days making sweets while fighting against those who seek to steal kirakiraru and bring misfortune to the world.3 Characters Main characters ; Ichika Usami (宇佐美 いちか Usami Ichika) / Cure Whip (キュアホイップ Kyua Hoippu)4 : Voiced by: Karen Miyama5 : The main protagonist, a confident 14-year-old second year middle school student who wishes to become a pastry chef when she grows up. Very cheerful and energetic as a rabbit, she loves sweets and desserts but struggles with actually making them as perfect or good as possible. Her mother works overseas as a doctor, leaving her father who runs a Dojo as her caretaker until she returns home. Though her baking skills are not perfect, her determination and heart were in the right place, which fueled her resolve in becoming a Pretty Cure. As Cure Whip, she is the Pretty Cure of cheerfulness and smiles, sporting a rabbit and strawberry shortcake motif.6 She uses her Rabbit-like instincts for enhanced hearing and powerful jumping ability. Also, she utilizes her Sweets Pact as a weapon, using the wand to create a pink cream lasso to attack or grapple enemies. She later uses the Candy Rod to perform her new attack, Whip Decoration, in episode 12. Her Animal Sweet is the Rabbit Shortcake and her theme color is pink. At the end of the series, she now travels around the world with KiraPati to make others smile. ; Himari Arisugawa (有栖川 ひまり Arisugawa Himari) / Cure Custard (キュアカスタード Kyua Kasutādo)4 : Voiced by: Haruka Fukuhara5 : A 14 year old classmate of Ichika, she is a hard-working second year middle school student. She is shown to be shy yet very knowledgeable, sometimes been known to be fast and light as a Squirrel. While working on the shop, she is very knowledgeable about sweets and pastries, often being referred to as a "Sweets Professor". As Cure Custard, she is the Pretty Cure of intelligence and courage, spotting a squirrel and pudding motif.6 Her squirrel abilities allow her to use lightning-like abilities and superspeed to make her run extremely fast. Her upgraded attack is Custard Illusion when using the Candy Rod. Her Animal Sweet is the Squirrel Pudding and her theme color is yellow. At the end of the series, she is now working as a Sweets Scientist on creating a large Pudding with other food scientists. ; Aoi Tategami (立神 あおい Tategami Aoi) / Cure Gelato (キュアジェラート Kyua Jerāto)4 : Voiced by: Tomo Muranaka5 : A 14 year old second year middle school student and another classmate of Ichika, who is known to be enthusiastic and brave like a lion. She is a lead vocalist of Wild Azur, a rock band and loves to sing. When managing the shop, her strength comes in handy as well as her support. It is later revealed that she is a heiress to the Tategami family's immense wealth. As Cure Gelato, she is the Pretty Cure of freedom and passion, sporting a lion and ice cream motif.6 Her lion abilities allow her to use ice powers and lion's roar to freeze the enemy. Her upgraded attack is Gelato Shake when using the Candy Rod. Her Animal Sweet is the Lion Ice-cream and her theme color is blue. At the end of the series, she is now a world-famous singer. ; Yukari Kotozume (琴爪 ゆかり Kotozume Yukari) / Cure Macaron (キュアマカロン Kyua Makaron)4 : Voiced by: Saki Fujita5 : A 17 year old noble second year high school student who is known for her beauty, but can be quite selfish and arrogant at times like a cat. Though a bit intimidating, she only uses her skills in the shop when bored. But when with Ichika's support, she then starts to enjoy her job and now supports the group. As Cure Macaron, she is the Pretty Cure of beauty and excitement, spotting a cat and a macaron motif with elements from "Musumeyaku (娘役, "Daughter's Role") actresses of Takarazuka Revue.6 Her cat-like abilities allows her to have better reflexes in battle, making her more nimble. Her upgraded attack is the Macaron Julien when using the Candy Rod. Her Animal Sweet is the Cat Macaron and her theme color is purple. At the end of the series, she appears to be travelling around the world. ; Akira Kenjo (剣城 あきら Kenjō Akira) / Cure Chocolat (キュアショコラ Kyua Shokora)4 : Voiced by: Nanako Mori5 : A 17 year old gentle second year high school student who has a boyish appearance that is unknown to others why. She is very nice and a strong sense of justice like a loyal dog, often times being a good person to rely on. Akira has knowledge on places and has a sick younger sister named Miku who she tends to cheer up and is very protective of, as shown when Julio steals Miku's kirakiraru. She moved to Ichika's neighborhood in order to be closer to the hospital her sister stays at. As Cure Chocolat, she is the Pretty Cure of strength and love, spotting a dog and chocolate motif with elements from "Otokoyaku (男役, "Male Role") actresses of Takarazuka Revue.6 Her dog-like abilities allows her to have a better sense of smell in battle, making her more sensitive. Her upgraded attack is Chocolate Aromase when using the Candy Rod. Her Animal Sweet is the Dog Chocolate and her theme color is red. At the end of the series, she is currently studying as a nurse. ; Kirarin (キラリン Kirarin) / Ciel Kirahoshi (キラ星 シエル Kirahoshi Shieru) / Cure Parfait (キュアパルフェ Kyua Parufe) : Voiced by: Inori Minase7 : A lamb-like fairy who is able to transform into a human. She became known as the Genius Patissiere after studying in France and recently returned to Japan for a demonstration. It is later revealed that she is Julio's sister, who was able to transform into a human after studying baking for a while, however, she reverts to her fairy form whenever she is hungry. As Cure Parfait, she is the Pretty Cure of dreams and hope, spotting a pegasus and parfait motif. Her attacks include Parfait Etoile and KiraKuru Rainbow, the latter being used to purify monsters. Both of these attacks require the Rainbow Ribbon. Her Animal Sweet is the Pegasus Parfait and her theme color is cyan. At the end of the series, she and Pikario work together in creating sweets. ; Pekorin (ペコリン) / Cure Pekorin (キュアペコリン Kyua Pekorin) : Voiced by: Mika Kanai584 : A chubby and spoiled lamb fairy who loves sweets and resides at Mount Ichigo. The color of her ears changes based on her emotions (e.g. Pink if she is happy and blue if she is sad). In later episodes, she gained the ability to turn into a small human girl, which she uses to assist the main girls. In Episode 47, after Ichika and the others were drained of their Kirakiraru, she gained the potential to become the group's seventh member, obtaining her own Sweets Pact and Animal Sweet. As Cure Pekorin, she is the Pretty Cure of Taste and Sparkles, sporting a doughnuts and lamb motif. Her attacks include firing cream-like projectiles using the Candy Rod, which explodes in certain time. Her Animal Sweet is the Pekorin Doughnut and her theme color is pink. At the end of the series, she now runs PekoPati with Elder, working hard in making sweets. ; Lumière (ルミエル Rumieru) : Voiced by: Kiyono Yasuno : A legendary Patissiere the PreCures encounter while traveling back in time, later revealed to be an nemesis of Noir from a century ago. Antagonists ; Noir (ノワール Nowāru) : Voiced by: Yoku Shioya9 : The main antagonist of the series, a demon who is wearing a mask and a robe. A century before the events of the series, due to his inability to make sweets, Noir demanded Lumière to bake only for him. Her refusal resulted in Noir vowing to stained the town in darkness, using his powers to stain the Kirakiraru of a person's heart and turn them into objects to take others' kirakiraru. While he possesses Elissio to confront the Cures, Noir ends up being betrayed by his vessel when his past is revealed and the Cures attempt to reach him. He gets turned into a card alongside Lumiere for Ellissio's own agenda. ; Gummy (ガミー Gamī) : Voiced by: Yūji Ueda9 : Gummy is a tempering dark-purple lizard-like fairy who is the leader of the Kirakiraru Thieves (キラキラルをうばう存在 Kirakiraru o Ubau Sonzai), a group of ten fairies bewitched by the belts Juilo gave them while instilling the notion in them to gain power by stealing Kirakiraru from pastries. Each member targets a different type of pastry, like Gummy going after cakes, absorbing the Kirakiraru to become monstrous versions of themselves which the Precure team defeat. When the Kirakiraru Thieves all attack the sweets festival, they were combined into a powerful version of Gummy by Julio to overpower the Precures. But the thieves were restored by the Candy Rod while freed from Julio's influence, the group later apologizing for their actions. ; Julio (ジュリオ Jurio) / Pikario (ピカリオ Pikario) : Voiced by: Junko Minagawa97 : Originally a lamb-like fairy, Pikario is Kirarin's twin brother who fell into a depression as he couldn't match Kikarin's skills. As a result, he grew to hate sweets and was transformed into the human Julio by Noir by taking the Kirakiraru from his heart. However, any sweet Pikario would make from then on would turn bad. The taken Kirakiraru was then transformed into a black rod he can transform into any type of weapon depending on the type of sweet that absorbed Kirakiraru originated from. Revealed to be the one who influenced the Kirakiraru Thieves into being evil, Julio assumes the identity of a transfer student named Rio Kuroki (黒樹 リオ Kuroki Rio) to spy on the Precure team as Ichika's classmate. He discovered the Cures' identities during their second confrontation. He believes that all his intention are part of his experiment. After being exposed by Yukari when she discovered that he had been gathering information about the Cures, Ciel revealed her brother's true identity before he is restored by the Cures. When Noir attempts to kill Ciel, Pikario sacrifices himself for his sister so she can complete her parfait while giving her his rod as it transformed into the Rainbow Ribbon. He eventually recovered in the shrine, coming to help the Cures battle Glaive. ; Bibury (ビブリー Biburī) : Voiced by: Chiemi Chiba9 : A girl who takes over after Julio loses to the Cures, Bibury was originally a lonely orphan whom Noir recruited while extracting her Kirakiraru and corrupted it into a Kirakiraru-absorbing doll called Iru (イル Iru) which Bibury carries around with her. Following Julio's defeat, Bibury first made herself know in an attempt to sabotage Kirakira Patisserie with ugly yet foolish rumors before being foiled by Yukari and her fangirls. While Iru serves as her enforcer once absorbing enough Kirakiraru to increase its size until defeated, Bibury can merge into her doll to increase its power. When she confronts the Cures to in a final attempt to redeem herself before Noir, Bibury ends being send back in time with them to Ichizoka's past and learned that Noir engineered her solitude to recruit her. Iru then forcefully absorbs a conflicted Bibury to attack the Cures, who defeat the doll as it dissolves back into Bibury's Kirakiraru energies. Bibury later begins working at Ciel's patisserie, supporting the Cures. ; Elissio (エリシオ Erishio) : Voiced by: Daisuke Hirakawa9 : A charismatic yet nihilistic man who serves as Noir's vessel, considering himself as a hollow shell while serving as the secondary main antagonist of the series. He always carrying tarot cards, using them in a variety of ways from absorbing Kirakiraru to weapons and a method of mind control. He also uses them in his Noir Miroir spell to turn an object into a monster. He mostly researches the Cures for their weaknesses before planning out an attack. After sealing Glaive and Diable within cards, he can tap into their power to assume different appearances to fight the Cures. While allowing Noir to possess him to fight the Cures, Elissio deems Noir's motives ridiculous as he seals both the spirit and Lumiere into cards so he can use their powers to turn Ichigoazaka into pastel-colored place devoid of emotions while attempting to prevent the Cures from interfering via memory alteration. But when the Cures overwhelmed him despite using Noir and Lumiere's powers, Elissio sucked them and the planet into his body as a last resort. But the Cures open Elisso's eyes by revealing that he possesses a heart, convincing him to help them restore the world. Elissio relinquishes Noir and Lumiere's cards to the girls before taking his leave to see the world. ; Glaive (グレイブ Gureibu) : Voiced by: Hisao Egawa9 : A fierce man with a blonde hair who owns a purple car that can absorb Kirakiraru, able to create claydoll minions called Nendos which he can turn into monsters based on the Kirakiraru that his car absorbs. Glaive later has his car absorb the essence of a dying Diable, transforming it into a stronger Diable Custom (ディアブル カスタム Diaburu Kasutamu) car. He then attacks Ichigoza by converting its denizens into Nendos, later merging with his car to fight the Cures until they defeat him with Sweets Castle. Glaive is turned into a card by Elissio. Glaive was revived after Elissio turned Ichigozaka into hos domain, now military garb with the task of quickly exacting any Kirakiraru that manifests to maintain Elissio's ideal order and keep the Cures from regaining their memories. But Pekorin intervened and defeated Glaive while restoring the Cures' memories. ; Diable (ディアブル Diaburu) : Voiced by: Ryota Takeuchi9 : A fox-like spirit who was an old ally of Noir before he was defeated by Lumiere in the past, seeking to gather enough Kirakiraru to fully revive. In episode 36, he fully assumes his true form, and battles the Cures, only to be defeated, with Glaive absorbing the dying being into his car. After Glaive's defeat, Diable's essence is turned into a card by Elissio. Movie characters ; Jean-Pierre Zylberstein (ジャン＝ピエール・ジルベルスタイン Jan-Piēru Jiruberusutain) : Voiced by: Matsuya Onoe10 : A pâtissier who taught Kirarin how to make sweets in Paris. He is passionate for making sweets but something seems to have changed about him. ; Cook (クック Kukku) : Voiced by: Aoi Yūki10 : A doll-like fairy who always seems to be seen together with Jean-Pierre.